Electric railway



UNITED STATES yPATni-vr OFFICE.

LEMIN VALLACE REID, OE MOUND, TEXAS.

ELECTRIC RAILWAY.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 558,110, dated April14, 1896.

Application iled August 8, 1895.

T0 all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, LEMIN WALLACE REID, a citizen of the United States,residing at Mound, in the county of Ooryell and State of Texas, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Electric Railways, ofwhich the following is a speciiication.

My invention relates to a new and useful improvement in electricrailways, and particularly to such railways as are adapted to useunderground conduits, and has for its object to so construct suchconduit and the line-wire connections therefor as to insure a constantconnection between the line-wire and the motor of the car, and, further,to greatly simplify and increase the eiiiciency of such systems.

With these ends in View the invention consists in the details ofconstruction and combination of elements hereinafter set forth, and thenspecifically designated by the claims.

In order that those skilled in the art to which my invention appertainsmay understand how to make and use the same, I will describe itsconstruction and operation in detail, referring by number to theaccompanying drawing, forming a part of this specification.

Referring t-o the drawing, which is a crosssection of my improvedconduit and theconnections between the line-wire and the car, 1represents a conduit, one side of which is formed by the rail 2, whichis of ordinary construction and rests on the timber 3. The other side ofthe conduit is a timber 4, to the top of which :is fastened a plate 5,which is secured by the spikes 6 or other suitable fastenings. To thisplate 5 is fastened an insulating-strip 7, which is secured by the bolts8.`

senti No. 558,628. .da man.)

the bolts 17. The rod is pivoted iu thebracket at 1S, so as to have alimited lateral movement, and is held in position by the springs 19.These springs are fastened to the truck-frame 16 at 20, and pressagainst opposite sides of the trolley-rod at 2l, and are secured to theinsulating-strips 22 by the bolts 23.

24 are blocks bolted on opposite sides of the trolley-rod and haveattached thereto the insulating-strips 22.

The rod 12 is adapted to run in the slot 25, and to preventshortcircuits that part of said rod that is adjacent to the conduit-top iscovered with gutta-percha or other non-conducting material 26, which isfastened to the top by a band 27, and at the bottom it is held bythecollar 28. Between the collar 28 and the piece 29 is a sliding collar30. To this collar 30 is secured an extension 31, having an enlargedhead upon which runs the trolleywheel 43 upon suitable ball-bearings andis kept in its proper relative position by the cone-collar 32 and spring33,interposed between said collar and the flange 34. By this arrangementthe trolley is kept in constant and sure contact with its bearing.

Secured to the hub of the collar 30 are the brackets 35, in the lowerends of which is journaled the trundle-roll 36, adapted to run in agroove 37, formed in the timber 3.

From the foregoing description it will be obvious that a trolley builtin accordance with my improvement will be caused to maintain a surecontact with the line-wire in that the trundle-roll prevents thetrolley-wheel from being withdrawn from such contact and the springs 38and 39 permit the rod 12 to rise and fall within the collar 30 withoutinterfering with the transmission of the electric current from thefeed-wire tothe motor of the car. So that any up-and-down movement ofsaid car will not eifect the contact of the trolley-wheel with theline-wire, and this is very essential, as in the constructionsheretofore used the contact of the trolley with the linewire is oftenbroken on account of the vertical movements of the car during its" rapidIOO pound movement caused by a car turning a curve, since the springs 19will give suiTiciently to permit said rod to swing upon the pivot 18Without affecting the contact between the line-wire and thetrolley-wheel.

At given intervals I prefer to provide sinks or catch-receptacles 40,whereby the conduit may be drained, and these sinks may be connectedwith proper drain-pipes and sewerage systems, so as to carry off anysurplus water that may accumula te therein; also, the holes 4l, formedin the timber 3 and communicating with the groove therein in which thetrundle-roll 3G travels, will relieve said groove of accumulatedmoisture, thus preventing freezing, wherebyL the working of my devicemight be retarded. p

42 represents the conducting-wire, which is led to the proper motor, asis usual in such devices. I am aware that slight modifications might bemade in my device withoutl departing from the spirit of my invention7and I therefore do not wish to be limited to the exact constructionshown and described.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new and usefulis- In an underground trolley, a rodl2 pivoted to a block beneath thecar, a collar 30 slidable on the lower end of said rod, a guidewheel 36journaled to arms of the collar, an arm 3l attached to the side of thecollar, a trolley-Wheel 43 on the arm 3l, a springpressed collar 32bearing against said trolleywheel, a feed-Wire IO attached to andinsulated from the top of the conduit, a rail 2 forming one wall of theconduit, a foundation for the rail 2 extending within the conduit andhaving a slot forming a way for the guide-wheel and means for drainingsaid slot, as and for the purpose described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto affixed my signature in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

LEMIN WALLACE REID.

\Vitnesses:

A. D. IIoNEYcUT, L. T. REID.

